DDCA row: AAP holds nationwide protests

The AAP on Saturday organised nationwide protest against Union finance minister Arun Jaitley over his alleged involvement in financial irregularities in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

The AAP claimed that in the protest organised in more than 275 districts and 17 state capitals, its volunteers from across the country set up stalls to rent out their laptops, printers and puja thalis to DDCA.

They also took out protest march saying they also call Arun Jaitley corrupt and dared him to file defamation cases against them.

Mr Jaitley has slapped a libel suit against AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and other party leaders. The party said it will organise a protest at Jantar Mantar on January 10.

“Investigations into the DDCA scam have revealed loot of public money under finance minister Arun Jaitley and his team. It has been found that crores of rupees were paid to shell companies floated using fake addresses and fake identities. This money was round-tripped to the DDCA officials under Arun Jaitley.

“The investigations have also revealed that companies and vendors were paid Rs 16,900 rupees per day for taking laptops on rent. Rs 3,000 was paid as daily rent for printers and puja thalis were taken on rent for up to Rs 5,000 per day,” AAP leader Ashutosh said.

Addressing a press conference, AAP’s Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey said the DDCA scam has exposed BJP’s top leader’s involvement in corruption.

“It’s a glaring example of how BJP leader Arun Jaitley misused his position to facilitate a scam. It’s shocking that a person who presided over systematic loot of public money at the cost of game of cricket for more than a decade, is country’s finance minister today,” Mr Pandey said.

Ashutosh also hit back at Union minister Venkiah Naidu for his comments that AAP’s allegation will boomerang and said the party and its leaders are of a different mettle.

He said the BJP has given a new definition to probity in public life. He also sided with suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad, who had came out openly against Jaitley, that he was ignored, then humiliated and finally suspended from the party.

In Punjab, protesters burnt effigies of Jaitley and raised slogans again the minister for ‘politicising” cricket and “giving public money to private firms for his personal gains”.

Punjab AAP co-convenor Durgesh Pathak accused Mr Jaitley of lying that the renovation of Feroz Shah Kotla ground was done at a total cost of Rs 114 crore, though the initial tender was only for Rs 24 crore.

He claimed that Rs 57 crore were paid to private companies without any competitive bidding or tenders. Mr Pathak also alleged that these companies were handpicked and all this was done to give benefits to near and dear ones of Mr Jaitley. He also condemned Mr Jaitley for allegedly putting pressure on ONGC to give Rs 5 crore grants to Hockey India.